The Honorable John Boozman, Senator from Arkansas, truly deserves to be the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Christian Statesman Award conferred by the D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship in Washington, DC.
A native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, John was raised by strong Christian parents, and he accepted Jesus as his Savior while still a young boy. John played football for the Razorbacks of the University of Arkansas while completing his pre-optometry degree. He graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and entered private practice that same year co-founding with his brother a family business that would ultimately become a major provider of eye care to residents of northwestern Arkansas.
John served two terms on the Rogers School Board-one of the largest school districts in the state. He established the low vision program at the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock and worked as a volunteer optometrist at an area clinic providing medical services to low-income families.
For five terms, John faithfully served the good people of Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure there, John played a crucial role in improving the transition to civilian life for our veterans, expanding treatments for our wounded warriors, and modernizing educational bene ts under the GI Bill. He was sworn-in as a U.S. Senator on January 5, 2011. He serves on four Senate committees.
One of the founding members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, John and the others were responsible for having God mentioned in our new Capitol Visitor Center. They fought against the push to remove all mention of God in our nation’s monuments.
He is one of the founding members of the Room 219 Prayer Room movement. Those founding members wanted a room where Members could pray together prior to the start of each legislative week. They finally got permission to use Room 219 near the House Chamber. What began as a very small group praying each week has grown into a group of 20 or 30 or 40 or more Members praying together regularly.
Sen. Boozman travels the world sharing Christ with world leaders and meeting with Christian groups in various capital cities of the world and helping those groups start national prayer breakfasts in their own countries. Sen. Boozman has often traveled to the continent of Africa to do what he can to fight malaria and AIDS. He is an unsung hero—never using these Christian activities as a “soap box” to promote himself.
Sen. Boozman is an optometrist by professional training, and he helps leaders around the world to “see” Christ.
Rep. Randy Forbes says of Sen. Boozman: “He is the personification of humility and sincerity and authenticity. He clearly embodies the qualities of a Distinguished Christian Statesman. He has always fought for religious freedom issues, for the sanctity of life, and for the sanctity of marriage as ordained by God to be between a man and a woman. He is the ideal candidate for this year’s Distinguished Christian Statesman award.”
The D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship is proud to confer its highest honor, the Distinguished Christian Statesman Award, upon this steadfast and stalwart Christian leader.